Chaeles h



(No Model.)

C* H' BUCHANAN.

SHOEl i A No. 334,561..

lisa/y yIlNiTnD STATES PATENT trice.

CHARLES H. BUCHANAN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 334,561, dated January19, 1886.

Application tiled August 7,1885. Serial No. 173,861. (No model.)

To all whom it' may concern:

Beit known that I, Canaries H. BUCHANAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful lImprovements inShoes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing, which forms part of this specification, in

Vwhich the figure is a perspective view of my improved shoe.

My invention has for its object to produce a new article of foot-wear-towit, a shoe, slipper, or boot-composed of material not hitherto used forthis 4,purpose, said article being constructed in a novel and peculiarmanner.

My invention consists of a shoe, boot, slipper, or equivalent piece offoot-wear, the upper of which is composed of straw braid or grass, saidupper being constructed as hereinafter fully described, and attached toa sole of different material, such as leather.

The accompanying drawing represents a shoe embodying my invention, andfor convenience of description and brevity I shall use the term shoe77as embracing all articles of footwear, such as slippers, boots, gaiters,&c.

In carrying my invention into effect I take straw braid plaited orbraided in the manner in which it is usually employed for straw goods,and stitch or fasten strands or layers thereof together in such manneras to produce an upper (by upper7 meaning all that part of the articleabove the sole) of any desired style, size, and shape. This upper mayand is designed to be lined as shoes ordinarily are, and it is stitchedor otherwise properly secured to a suitable sole of leather or otherappropriate material. Any straw or grass braid may be employed,according to the fancy or wish of the manufacturer-for example, Leghorn,Panama, Manila, or palm-leaf straw braid, or Ceylon or other grass. Thematerial suggested, being very light, will make a shoevbetter adaptedfor summer wear than any shoe heretofore produced. Where such materialis used in the form of an upper composed of braids, said upper will b'emore thoroughly ventilated than ordinary uppers are, the joints or lapsof the braid affording passages for the admission of fresh air to andthe escape of heated air, Ste., from the foot.

Hence my invention consists not merely in the application of material toa new use, but in the construction of a shoe in a novel manner-to wit,of strands or layers of straw braid which lap on one another, and arefashioned or attached by stitching to form an upper which is attached toa sole of suitable material. This construction affords opportunity forvarying the appearance of the shoe, and by using different grades orclasses of straw or'grass a great variety of styles and weights of shoesmay be produced.

In the accompanying drawing, A represents a shoe embodying myimprovements.

B is the upper or portion above the sole, said upper being composed ofstrands of straw braid or grass braid, which are united to each other bystitching, the strands overlapping each other,'and being so disposedrelatively to each other as to produce the necessary shape and theopening for the insertion of the foot. Said upper is lined, if desired,with any suitable material, and is preferably bound around its upperedges.

C is the sole, to which the upper is secured in the manner usuallyfollowed in 'fastening uppers to soles, and said sole is made of leatheror any other suitable material.

I am aware that it has heretofore been proposed to use straw braid inshoes, and hence I do not broadly claim the same. In one such case itwas proposed to make the upper and sole of straw braid, which wouldproduce an article with inadequately-durable sole. In the other case itwas proposed to cut out braided or plaited straw and attach it to aleather sole, but this would not make as nea-t an article as in myconstruction, where the straws are overlapped in such relation as togive the required shape to the upper, the latter being stitched orfastened to a sole after being so fashioned or shaped; hence with myinvention I make, in the first place, a complete-fashioned upper withoutcutting, the shape being imparted in stitching the strands or layerstogether, and the'sole being subsequently secured'to said upper.

I have suggested straw braid as the mate- ICO rial composing` the upperof my invention; but imitation braid or tape or strands or strips ofother material than straw or grass may be substituted for the latter,the construction described being otherwise preserved.

Vhat claim as my invention is- 1. A shoe or slipper the upper of whichis made of straw braid or braided vegetable liber, said braids beingoverlapped and stitched together and of different lengths, the longerbraids completely surrounding the body ot' the shoe, While the shorterbraids, or some of them, terminate at the sole7 substantially asdescribed.

2. A shoe or slipper the upper of which is made of straw braid orbraided vegetable ber, and the solo of leather, the braids being oVerlapping, stitched together, and of different lengths and oi`gradually-varying curvature from the upper portion to the lower or soleportion, substantially as described.

Li. A shoe or slipper upper consisting of 3o strands or strips of braidor braid-like material united to each other in overlapping courses,substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this6th day of 55 August, 1885.

CITAS. ll. BUCHANAX.

\\"iluesses:

M. D. CoNNoLLY, B. F. TELLER.

